and built a new altar for burnt offerings. Then in the year 163 B. C. the House was rededicated; and the occasion was remembered in annual festival thereafter under the name of the Feast of Dedication.[1]
In the interest of self-preservation the Jews entered into an alliance with the Romans, who eventually became their masters. During the reign of the Maccabees the Temple fell into decay, and when the last of that dynasty had been succeeded by Herod the Great, the House was little more than a ruin. Nevertheless the priestly orders had been maintained; and some semblance of ritualistic worship had continued. The history of the Temple of Zerubbabel is merged with that of the Temple of Herod.
THE TEMPLE OF HEROD
In the year 37 B. C. Herod I, known in history as Herod the Great, was established on the throne as King of Judea. He had already served successively as procurator and tetrarch, and, indeed, had been king in name for some time prior to his enthronement, during which period he had been in hostile conflict with the people over whom the decree of the Roman Senate had made him ruler. He came to the throne noted for arrogance and cruelty; and his reign was one of tyranny, in which even family relationship and the closest ties of blood proved unavailing to protect the victims of his displeasure. In the early part of his reign he put to death nearly all the members of the Sanhedrin, the great Jewish Council, and throughout he ruled with increasing severity. Nevertheless he was successful in maintaining peace with other
- ↑ See Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, chaps. 6 and 7; and II Maccabees 2:19; 10:1-8; see also John 10:22.
